Ebay and Homepride Fred

Without Prejudice

It all began with a toy that my 2nd oldest daughter had when she was nine. I had bought her a Fred, a Homepride Fred plastic doll that stood about 12" high. His black bowler hat was a sieve, his head was a mixing bowl. He had cookie cutters under his feet and inside his body was a plastic cup, measuring spoons and a recipe book.

In his hands he held a rolling pin and a plastic spoon. He was as cute as a button and Yvette loved him, but he had disappeared over the years. And she wanted another. I searched everywhere and then somone said try Ebay. I had to admit I had never heard of it and was a little wary of buying on the internet. But I eventually overcame my fear and went on Ebay.

No luck in Australia so I logged on to the Ebay UK site and found one. I was eccstatic. I had to stay up until 4am to get the final bid in and won him after fierce bidding from others. He arrived in his original box about 3 weeks later and he was perfect, absolutely perfect. From then on I was hooked.

When I had finished being a contract Purchasing Officer my oldest daughter said I should sell on Ebay. I loved vintage fashion and had many pieces, over a hundred at the time when I counted them all up. I also had a good source in Melbourne of designer clothes and shoes that were very cheap.So with a will and a renewed energy I decided to find out every thing I could on Ebay and start selling. It was trial and error from day one, but I stuck by it.

I spent many a fifteen hour day, learning the ropes, reading everything I could get my hands on about Ebay, answering queries by Email and trawling other buyers sites. I became an expert after about 6 months. It was no easy learn and I had expected it to be. It was slog and slog, heaps of mistakes and some triumphs. Things I expected to sell well didn't and dress labels that I knew nothing of sold and sold well.

I had to do my homework. In the beginning I only had a phone camera and the photos came out fuzzy and bad. I asked Yvette to start modelling the clothes as she was a perfect size 6. She had said when I showed her the photos that they needed "flesh" to fill them out. She was right as the tops and dresses she modelled sold well. She would come to my house every week and we bought a digital camera at long last. We would spend all day taking photos, they had to be perfect.

Then I would upload the photos and do the desciption. That took the longest time at first. I had to be inventive and imaginative, There are thousands of items on Ebay, new old and inbetween. I had to find a catchy title and at that time it was about 53 letters allowed. I would work for hours on the Title and description alone. I was obsessed.

The vintage clothes had to be washed, ironed, examined for flaws, modelled. Getting the right photo was key. Out of tens of photos one only might be useable, then there was the measuring. I had to buy a mannequin in the end as Yvette was not always available to model. The mannequin made the items look more professional and shoes could be photographed on their own.

It was trial and error from day one. I had to find out what sold and what didn't and why. I branched out a little after a while and sold other things and sold overseas as well. I sold an old fashioned briefcase to the USA and the postage alone was more than the item but the buyer was happy to pay. I foind that big shoes sold, the gaudier the better and I had a feeing they were being bought by Transvestites. I didn't care as long as they sold.

I sold some things too cheap and was shocked at the price I would get for what I considered ugly items. Older Australian designers sold like hot cakes, wildfire. It all depended on how I presented them. I figured that people dressing film sets would buy period design and I was right. Velevet Jackets went, older style vintage Jag and Lisa Ho. I had a girlfriend dress maker that could modify things for me, which was a Godsend.

I bought Lisa Ho and Alannah Hill, Adele Palmer and Carla Zampatti, Sussan sells well as does larger sizes. I didn't believe at first that people would buy what I considered second hand shoes but they did. I sold car parts, Commodore, of course, and they flew out the door. I sold a car and couches, shabby chic items but the mainstay was older style vintage items, clothing and shoes, that was where the money was, buried in nostalgia.

I sold a foosball table to a guy that was putting it in his work canteen. I sold a retro old couch from the 70's which I had coveted but could no longer fit in my lounge room. I sold bedding and wardrobes, some art deco, I sold and sold and sold. It had to be unique I found and had to be value for money. I stuck to vintage clothing however and scoured op shops and garage sales to do so. Washed and mended, shined up the shoes. Vintage wedding dresses sold well, from any era, I found.

But in the end I stuck to what I loved and found if I loved it, someone else would too. I taught Ebay to others, an average session taking about 3 hours. And was so pleased when they were happy and selling for themselves. I still do Ebay sometimes and will ramp it back up shortly as it's winter and things sell well in the winter, (more people indoors ) If it hadn't been for Ebay I could not have survived the lean years and it remains my love to this day.

More to Come ......

Love Janette

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